//------------------------------//
// Zero-Two 
// Story: Observations and Preservations 
// by Tolerance 
//------------------------------//

	Twilight was only half surprised when the spell she had just cast refused to tear a hole in reality. The only thing that the spell did, it seemed, was open up a window to some other location, just like any other scrying spell would. The scenery that Twilight saw through the window consisted of a small, grassy hill next to an even smaller pond. Sitting in the grass near the shore lay a unicorn reading a book. She would almost have mistaken the stallion for her brother were it not for the fact that this stallion had a lavender coat with a dark purple mane. A color scheme that was nearly identical to her own.

He looked up from his reading and looked in her direction, finally noticing that the spell had opened a window on their side as well. "Hey, Gramps! This thing's activated again." 

"Coming," came a familiar sounding voice responded from somewhere off in the distance, "and I thought I told you to call me by my name."

Another unicorn appeared within view of the window, a unicorn that Twilight instantly recognized. "Starswirl?" she asked.

"Well at least somepony manages to get that right around here." Starswirl looked accusingly at the other unicorn who had gone back to his reading. "If you know my identity, then that must mean that you are the Twilight Sparkle from my home realm. Just to be certain, I have to ask exactly how you've come to learn who I am?"

"Well the last time you were here, you kidnapped my friend and attempted to tear a hole in the very fabric of the world." Twilight stated flatly. "I take it that your 'multiple world theory' is more or less a provable fact now, isn't it."

"Aha! It is you. I just had to be sure. My original theories have had to undergo some heavy alterations, but other worlds do exist. How is it that you've obtained a way to open up this viewport, if you don't mind my asking?"

"What? The spell was hidden in your journal using a code. Why do you ask?"

"I ask because I knew of no such spell before coming here. It seems that a version of me from a different world was successful in opening up the rift on his first attempt. The journal he left here describes some of the methods he used to communicate with other worlds. What he doesn't mention is exactly which worlds he's left these messages in, or how he managed to build this tiny realm for his own use."

"You mean you're not in one of those alternate worlds?"

"Precisely. The location I'm at now is actually just a tiny island that happens to be floating within the void between worlds. I've been unable to leave this place since my arrival. The others are stuck here as well, but that is unimportant. What is important is you."

"What about me? Why isn't being stuck on some floating island in the middle of nowhere a cause for concern?"

"I pulled the others here in an attempt to save them. Their worlds are gone, Twilight. The only reason I've been able to save these three is the fact that they all happen to be bearers of a significant magic element, something I believe you hold as well."

"Their worlds are gone? As in destroyed, or something else?"

"Just suffice it to say that there is nothing left. There isn't a trace to suggest that their worlds even existed save for the fact that they, themselves, are here with me. I have limited powers here, but there are still some things I can do. Pulling at least one soul from a world before it is completely destroyed happens to be one of them."

"If the ones you've saved all happen to bearers of the Element of Magic, why doesn't that other unicorn over there look like me? I thought that the other worlds were only supposed to the results of different choices."

"I said that my theories have been revised to an extent, didn't I? Only a relatively few worlds closely resemble our own. Many others don't even have equines as an intelligent species, some don't support life at all. The only thing that matters though, is that you, Twilight Sparkle, may be the only one capable of saving the remaining worlds."

"What makes you say that, why can't you do it with the combined power of the other elements that you already have?"

"I've already said that my powers are limited here. Neither the others, nor myself, have figured out how to leave this place. For better or for worse we are trapped here, and that is where you come in."

"You think I'll be able to break you all out from the outside?"

"No, not really. There is something else out here in the void besides our little island. It appears to be connected to every world I've been able to study, and it may even be the cause of what's happening. This hub is where you need to go."

"How am I supposed to do that if everypony you've pulled out of their world ends up stuck there with you?"

"That depends. Some of the others have mentioned that Luna has a Remote View spell that lets one's mind wander freely. Hopefully you've managed to learn a spell or two in my absence, because I've got a theory about how such a spell can be put to use..."